World Tribune.com

Relatives of victims tell of horrific train collision in N. Korea

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, June 7, 2006

Two troop trains crowded with soldiers and civilians collided head-on in North Korea in April leaving some 1,000 dead, Seoul-based aid group and other sources said.

The accident occurred in Kowon County, in the eastern mountainous province South Hamkyong on April 23, when a train went out of control on a downhill stretch of track after its brakes failed, according to Good Friends, a humanitarian group that has started aid programs for the communist country.

More than 10 train accidents occur in the North every year due to the poor conditions of the railway system.

"A lack of fuel and electricity have often abruptly stopped trains, causing collisions," a source said.

The soldiers' train rammed into a freight train that was climbing the hill on the single track. "The accident caused many casualties as the car of the passenger train was packed with soldiers, mostly those being discharged and new conscripts," the group said in a report, citing sources in the North.

Other sources close to the North also said some 270 soldiers and 400 civilians were killed in the accident. The collision was caused by a communications failure between the two trains over the use of the single track, they said.

"The number of victims increased due to lack of emergency medical supplies in the remote area," one source said. The North Korean government imposed a news blackout on the accident, but relatives of the victims leaked information, the sources said.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said it has not yet detected any signs of such an accident in the North. It refused to comment further.

In April 2004, two train cars loaded with ammonium nitrate exploded in a station close to China, leaving more than 160 people dead and another 1,300 injured. North Korea has cracked down on the use of mobile phones since then, as authorities believed cell phone calls leaked news of the massive explosion at the rail station in the town of Ryongchon.


Copyright © 2006 East West Services, Inc.

Print this Article Print this Article Email this article Email this article Subscribe to this Feature Free Headline Alerts


Google
Search Worldwide Web Search WorldTribune.com